Saturday, June 30, 2012

the natural cycle of things

Many of the challenges we face today are results of our abandonment of the natural cycle of things. We've been lucky to live during the cheap energy bonanza, but let's face it; without a supply of cheap energy, our entire way of life is unsustainable. Recent studies confirm that we're using 1.5 earths supply of resources, and the population continues to grow.
Our use of these ancient gifts has enabled vast leaps in the quality of life, but it has also put strain on our environment and encouraged us to believe that anything is achievable when the facts tell us otherwise.
Change can be difficult, but it's also inevitable. We've survived this long because we've adapted, and we'll continue to do so. However, we have to reconsider every aspect of how we organize life and get back to something that earth says we can handle. Don't think of it as giving something up, but rather a recognition that we are just another part of the cycle of life, and the best path is one that rides within it's place in this world.

Friday, June 29, 2012

This is what climate change looks like

Hot enough for you? The MissouriNet reported this week that it looks like the worst summer since 1988 - the last period of prolonged drought we've had in recent history. Not surprising, after the mild winter following repeated years of record temperatures. Communities are canceling Fourth of July fireworks celebrations as wildfires rage around the country. Scientists say that this is what climate change looks like. We've had examples this year that eerily follow computer models for climate change. More moisture at inopportune times (spring planting season and fall harvest season), with longer periods of drought inbetween. Spells trouble for anyone who likes to eat - growing food just got a lot harder.
Not like we didn't have enough problems already.
The end of cheap energy is putting pressure on all of our systems - finance notably playing out in markets around the world. Some are pointing to rising oil and gas stocks as an example that we have ample supply, but that ignores the myriad of other issues at play. American oil use is down - and that's partially because high cost is driving some to conserve or leave the market. The glut is reducing prices - good for us, but bad for producers. You see, the surge in supply is coming because high prices support new techniques and riskier conquests. Tar sands and deep water is very expensive to produce, and falling prices only ensures that some of that will become uneconomical.
We're seeing it already with natural gas. The president of EXXON admitted "we're losing our shirts" on gas this week. The recent boom in shale gas drilling has produced a surplus - which lowers the price. Unfortunately, that means it becomes unprofitable, and many wells are now being abandoned.
All of these issues are related - we're creating more problems with climate change by continuing to burn fossil fuels. We're running out of cheap, available resources and the economy requires growth to pay for expansion. While higher prices enable new solutions, they also destroy demand, because we're already stretched too thin. And so we teeter on the edge, with boom and bust looming overhead.
Meanwhile, lives and homes burn, farms go bust, cities are flooded and landscapes torn apart. All because the Ameican way of life is non-negotiable.
And the meek shall inherit the earth.